Grain elevator



W. B. HAUTER. GRAIN ELEVATOR. APPLICATIQN FILED SEPT. 26, 1919.

Patented Dec; 5, 1922.

3 SHEETSSHEET TTWT 1H: //3 I l 2- V I E" z I A? If I v I; a E v 7 k ":1: i 1 l w B. HAUTER.

GRAIN ELEVATOR. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26.1919;

Patented Dec. 5,1922.

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w. B. HAUTER. GRAIN ELEVATOR. APPLlCATlON FILED SEPT, 26, 1919 1,437,415. Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

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WILLIAM B. HAII'IER, 0]? MORTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOE TO A. EMEYER MFG. 00., OF

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s m a re 01R nt at r filed ep e 919- atin Ne new 3 To all whom it may concern: I a

Be it known that I, YVILLIA B. HAUTER, a citizen of the United States, a resident of Morton, inthe county of'Tazewell and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful linprovernents in Grain Elevators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to elevators, and relates particularly to elevators used in cribs'on the farm for the storage of corn and grain of all sorts. e

One of the objects of the present invention is to improve the elevating mechanism, in the types of elevators referred to, by employing a roller chain for moving the buckets, or similar conveying means, and constructing the elevator structure to permit the use of such a chain. 7

The invention has for a'further object, to do away entirely, with the use of sprocket Wheels in the elevator boot, made posssible by the use of a roller chain, and toprovide a curved guide or guides for the chain, thereby relieving'the friction usually centered on the shaft carryingthe sprockets and distributing such friction to each of the rollers in the chain, at this point.

That my invention, maybe fullyunder stood, reference ishad to the following drawings, in which: y

Figure l is a side elevation, partly in sec tion, showing a preferred form of elevator with my invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is an end elevation, partly in section, of the elevator, with improvements seen in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail showing a part of the chain and part of a bucket attached;

Figure 4; is across-section in plan,'as the same would appear if taken on the line 1-,-4: of Figure 1; 1

Figure 5 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the corner constructions for the boot;

Figure 6 is a plan of Figure 5, partly in section; e a

Figure '2'- is an end elevation, partly in section, of Figure 5, and

Figure 8 is a cross-section on the l ne 8,8 of Figure 5.

Like characters of reference denote corre sponding parts throughout the figures.

In the drawings, 111211 6 illustrated the preferred form in which the invention should be used, i. e., an elevator to be used inside of a crib, the lifting leg to be placed on one sideof the driveway through the crib the return leg to be placed on the opposite side of said driveway the receiving boot located beneath the floor of the driveway; communica tion being had therewith through a trap in the driveway floor, and the head or discharge endoff the elevator being located at a dis tance abovethe nearer the driveway and preferably centrally thereof and having a receiving hopper'to which may be connected any well known form of swiveled, extensible and flexible dischargespout' to convey the elegated material to the several bins of the cm s.

One form of an inside elevator, such as I I have referred to, iss hown in the patent to Meyer, dated May 4, 1909, and numbered 920,602. r I 0 1 designates the floor of the driveway through the crib and below which, in a wellportion 2, the/boot 30f the elevator is located, extending transversely thereof, and at its opposite ends there areconnected to, and uprise therefrom, the elevator legs 4 and 5. The leg 4 serves'to guide the liftingrun of the elevator chains 6, and the leg 5 serves to guide the descending run of such chains. The upper ends of the legs #1 and 5, are connected by the transversely disposed head front which depends the preferably centrally located hopper 8. 0

*The chains 61oomprise the links 9 and 10, connected with the rollers 11. The links 9 are preferably straight linksand one section of each link '10 is formed with theefi setbody 12, to which are secured the cups113.

Each leg 4 and 5 of theelevatorcomprise the opposite parallel pairs of upstanding beams '14. ,The beamsof each pair are spaced 'a'suitable distance apart to form the guide-way -15 inwhich travel the chains 6. The rollers 11 travel on the facing edge of the beams 14:, asshown. The cups 13 travel wheel 5, whereby the cups 10 are tilted slightly as they leave the sprocket wheel 16, thereby insuring the discharge of the material into the hopper 8. Although not shown, there is preferably connected to the lower end of the hopper, an extensible, flexible and swinging spout to direct the material to the difierent bins of the crib, not shown.

Ordinarily at each end of the boot 2, there are sprocket wheels to guide the chains 6 from the leg 5 and to the leg 4, and with such a structure with the accompanying shafts, all the friction is centered on the shafts carrying such sprocket wheels. I have done away with this structure and to guide the roller chains 6, I provide the corner or end members 18, arranged in pairs at each end of the boot and spaced apart to receive the chains, and between which travel the cups 13, which move along the bottom of the boot, and scoop up the material to be elevated. These members 18 are substantial duplicates of each other, therefore, the description of one will suffice for all.

Y The member 18 is preferably a casting, but may be stamped out of sheet metal if desired. It is in the form of a plate having the horizontal and vertical angular edges 19 and 20 and with the curved end 21. In the body of the plate is provided the curved chain guiding groove 22 formed with the upper and lower roller bearing surfaces 23 and 24, and the outer protecting wall 25. The edge 20 of the plate is also formed with the off-set wall 26, preferably flush with the wall 25 of the guiding groove 22.

The members 18 are set in each end of the boot and a sheet metal shield 27 is laid along the bottom of the boot, and turned u at the ends to conform to the curved en s 21 of the plates 18 and secured thereto. The lower ends of the beams'14c of eachleg are secured to these members 18, by being offset, as at 28, so to be bolted or otherwise suitably secured to said plates. Extending between and secured to the off-set wall por-' tions 26 of the respective end plates 18, are pairs of horizontally disposed beams 29,

spaced apart to provide chain guides or grooves 30, which communicate with and form continuations of the grooves 22 in the plates 18 and the grooves or guides 15 be tween the pairs of upstanding beams 1a. Thus it will be seen that the chains 6 travel in the guides or grooves 30 between the beams 29 and the guides or grooves 22 in the end plates 18, when leaving and entering the boot 2, and the friction at the ends of the boot is distributed to all the rollers 11 of the chains, as they travel through the boot. This structure is not only much more simple and compact than the sprocket wheel structure, but is much more eflicient and less likely to give trouble, inasmuch as the whole boot structure is usually built in cement.

lVhat T "claim is:

1. In a grain elevator, in combination, conveying and elevating means including chains and cups, runs for the said chains and cups comprising vertically disposed spaced beams forming chain guides, a dis charge head, sprocket wheels journaled in the head to guide the chains, a receiving boot, chain guides for the opposite corners of the boot comprising spaced plates formed with I inwardly facing curved guiding grooves to direct the chains to and from the boot, and elevating chains having rollers adapted to travel on the bearing surfaces of the matching faces of the beams, and on the bearing surfaces of the guides in said plates. 2. In a grain elevator, in combination, a boot arranged below the floor in the driveway of a crib, a discharge head at an elevated position above the floor of the driveway, sprocket wheels journaled in the head to guide the chains, lifting and return legs arranged on opposite sides of the drive-way, their upper and lower ends, respectively, connecting head and boot and comprisingvertically disposed spaced beams forming chain guides, chain guiding plates at opposite corners of the boot and formed with in wardly facing curved chain guiding grooves to direct the chain to and from the boot, chain guides in the boot connecting said plates, roller chains, and cups connecting said chains at intervals. f

3. In a grain elevator, in combination, the head, boot, legs connecting the head and boot, sprocket wheels journaled in the head to guide the chains, guides for the chains in the opposite corners of the boot comprising spaced plates each formed with inwardly facing curved guiding grooves, and roller chains movable through said guiding plates, legs and over said sprocket wheel.

In a grain elevator, in combination, a boot, legs connecting the boot at opposite ends, conveying chains traversing said boot and legs, guides for the chains where the legs and boot unite. said guides comprising spaced plates each formed with correspond ing inwardly facing curved guiding grooves.

5. In a grain elevator, in combination, a boot, legs connecting the boot at opposite ends, conveying chains traversing said boot and legs, guides for the chains where the legs and boot unite, each guide comprising a corner plate having two straight edges and a curved edge and formed with a curved guiding groove in its side face opening out of said straight edges, said groove enclosed 011 three sides.

6. In a grain elevator, in combination, a boot, a chain guide for the boot comprising plates having two straight edges and acurved edge and formed with curved guiding grooves in their side faces opening out of said straight edges, a vertlcal leg comprising beams having their lower ends con nected with said plates, and spaced apart to form chain guides communicating with the grooves in said plates, and horizontally arranged beams in said boot connected with said plates and spaced apart to form chain guides connecting with the grooves in said plates.

7. In a grain elevator, in combination, a boot, legs connecting the boot at opposite ends, conveying chains traversing said boot and legs, guides for the chains Where the legs and boot unite, each guide comprising a plate formed With a curved guiding groove in its face and closed on three sides.

8. In a grain elevator, in combination, a boot, legs connecting the boot at opposite ends, conveying chains traversing said boot and legs, guides for the chains Where the legs and boot unite, each guide formed With a curved guiding groove in its side face and closed on three sides, and an ofif-set on one edge of the plate fiushwith one Wall of said groove.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my hand this 10th day of September,

WILLIAM B. HAUTER. 

